


the only hope we have

by twinSky



Category: Subarashiki Kono Sekai | The World Ends With You, Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: (again. as per twewy rules), (but you know. it's twewy so.), Gen, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mentions of Violence, Past Character Death, Trust Issues, general sora being an asshole, general warnings that go along with twewy, personally creating a new platonic tag on the arc v ao3 every time i post a fic tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25203103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twinSky/pseuds/twinSky
Summary: Sora would really appreciate it if everyone would stop it with this ‘trust your partner’ talk. He’s not going to do it and no amount of talking is going to change his mind. So they might as well save their breath.
Relationships: Kurosaki Shun & Shiunin Sora, Tsukikage & Shiunin Sora
Comments: 2
Kudos: 8





	the only hope we have

**Author's Note:**

> it's WEIRD to post a fic that is like. a random point of a not properly fleshed out au but i wrote this and i'm subjecting people to it. you can blame twitter for this. my awful (wonderful) mutuals said twewy au and then SOMEONE had to say kurosaki hanekoma and neku sora and i couldn't. i couldn't NOT write that? do you feel me? also i'm just continuously posting niche-er and niche-er fic until no one is here to read it so. why can ya do
> 
> That said. This is not a direct twewy au as in each character represents someone from canon. this is just a reapers game taking place in maiami city. i just made the xyz trio the composer/conductor/producer because i trust them with my life. yuto if i die u can take me into a death game yuto PLEASE.
> 
> Title comes THIS neku quote: :Shiki's out. They made her my entry fee. Joshua too- took the bullet for me. Rhyme's gone. Noise got her. And Beat left to join the Reapers. One Player after another... gone... I'm the only one of us left--the only hope we have."
> 
> \--
> 
> STAN TSUKIKAGE!!!
> 
> \--  
> edit: 07/12/2020 i fucking. i fucking posted the unedited version of this fic. i wanna die. it's fixed now

When Sora comes to he’s by the plaza once again, the music of the band performing filling the air. He stands up quickly, hissing as a couple steps through him. There’s no pain attached to it, but discomfort still rings through him when it happens.

He sighs, running one hand through his bangs as he turns the other over, palm facing upwards. The timer is already counting down, a sharp stylized counter counting down from what was probably four hours, as it was now reading 3:58:-- and counting.

Four Hours? What could they possibly have to do that will take them four hours? None of the missions they’ve done so far have taken longer than two hours.

Speaking of… where the hell is that guy.

He looks around, easily spotting Tsukikage’s distinct posture and outfit in the near distance, talking to two other players. Sora scowls as he walks over, just in time to hear the two offer their thanks as they take off, nodding at one of the Wall Reaper’s as they disappear up in the direction of the LDS Tower.

“What were you doing?” He hisses, glaring at the space the two left behind.

Tsukikage inclines his head in greeting, pausing before speaking. “I was simply giving directions to those two.”

“To where? And why didn’t you wait for me?”

He blinks, eyebrows raising slightly. “To the mission location of course, and you’ve stated many times you do not wish for me to stand near you. I was simply abiding by your wishes.”

His hand twitches, reaching for… something. He doesn’t know, there are spots in his memory, he knows this, and sometimes he feels like a half-finished sculpture, going for a motion but not quite getting there.

“ _Sora you’re our friend. We wouldn’t lie about this!”_

He shakes his head, stamping down his foot as he tries to wipe away the memory of that weird boy and girl who had tried latching onto him when he’d first woken up here. Or the girl had anyways, the boy had just kind of stood there, listless and useless.

She was probably just annoyed she’d picked such a worthless partner and wanted to con Sora into helping them. The thought makes him glance over at Tsukikage. He'd been a pick on a whim—he’d thought the weirdo outfit and apparent silence would make him agreeable and easy to manipulate but he was steadfastly nice. Sora tried not to think too hard on it, he was capable of holding his own and that was more than enough for him. If they could both look after themselves then that was close enough to working on his own.

So what if Tsukikage had pushed him out of the way of that noise yesterday. Sora would have been fine; he wouldn’t fall for that kind of ploy.

“Shiunin-san?” Tsukikage asked, and Sora ignored the annoyance that always bubbled up at the formal address.

“Shut up!” He scowled. “What have I told you about helping out other players, are you trying to die here?”

“You have no proof that there is only one victor, the rules simply state one must survive the seven days.”

“Yeah, that’s what an idiot would believe. This is some sick joke whoever’s in charge is playing on us just to laugh at us at the end.”

“Even so,” Tsukikage says, gazing down intently at Sora, “it would be remiss of me to ignore the plight of those in need when it is within my power to help them.”

He scoffs, “That do-gooder attitude isn’t going to get you anywhere in life.”

“Be that as it may, it is none of your concern.” He says, with a slight nod, turning his head away to signal the end of this discussion.

Whatever, let him be an idiot. It’s not like it’s any of Sora’s concern if Tsukikage wants to run himself into the ground helping their opponents, that’s his business. As long as it doesn’t weigh them down he shouldn’t let it bother him so much.

Once they get back to the RG Tsukikage can go ahead and run himself right back into an early grave. Sora’s tried giving him advice.

Being nice has never helped anybody. Especially not Sora.

He lifts his duel disk with a sigh, lighting up the screen and checking his messages. A cheery flashing light alerts him of one new mail, the mission mail for the day.

_Morning! Today’s Wednesday –congrats on making it halfway through the week!_

_Take a break, head over to Heartland Citea for something nice to drink._

_You have a nice four hours, so no rush!_

The message ends there, two mocking little music notes accompanying it. It doesn’t even mention erasure as it usually does.

What is this, a fucking joke?

“Is this serious?” He asks and Tsukikage shrugs.

“That is all the information we were given.”

“There has to be more than this, right?”

Again, Tsukikage shrugs. “We won’t know until we check.”

“Alright, where is this place anyways?”

“You’ve never heard of it? It’s quite the popular place, a nice selection of pastries and drinks.” Tsukikage says, eyes crinkling as he smiles beneath the mask.

Sora frowns at the expression, his vision blurring as his head begins to pound.

_“You like it right? [….] thought you would, sucks she had to go help out her dad.” The boy on the other side of the table says, except his shape is warped, blurred and unclear like an image through fog._

_He can’t make him out but even so, looking at him Sora feels –_

_He startles, a_ hand on his forehead that he slaps away as he steps back. “Don’t touch me.” He warns, glaring up at him.

Tsukikage’s expression does not shift, passive as ever as he takes a step forward. “Are you alright, Shiunin-san, your face is pale.”

“I’m fine, just shut up about it.” That was… what was he just thinking about. His hands clench with a scowl, just what the hell is going on here. “Why do you even know about this place? Can’t picture you at a trendy place like that.”

He takes a moment to respond, watching Sora cautiously. “My brother enjoyed it, he liked the birds.” He says eventually, expression softer than Sora is used to seeing.

“You have a brother?”

“Yes he –” He stops, expression dimming. “It’s not important. Come, we should start walking. It’s over near the stadium, it’s a bit of a trek.”

Sora shrugs, falling in step beside him. He might not remember his own price, but it’s not hard to guess Tsukikage’s.

He would tell the other to not let his weak points be so obvious, that people are going to use it to hurt him, but it would probably just annoy him.

Sora’s not entirely sure why he cares about it at all.

(But he does, nevertheless.)

-

The café is quaint, the front of it adorned with a row of plants that make Sora feel more like he’s entering a greenhouse than a café, but it’s nice, he supposes. There’s a bluebird on the awning that flies off its perch when they approach the door, flitting around them before landing to rest on Tsukikage’s head.

Tsukikage says nothing to this, but he had mentioned his brother liked the birds, so maybe it recognised him?

The bell rings as they walk in and the shop is empty aside from the guy manning the counter and the boy sitting across from him. They both look up as the two of them enter, and there is a weird sense of déjà vu as his eyes land on the smaller boy, for a moment someone else is overlaid atop him. The same boy from day one with the girl who wouldn’t leave him alone. Who still tried talking to him any time they ran into each other.

_“Hey, Sora, look –”_

He blinks and the thought and image are gone, Tsukikage is already at the counter ordering, and the boy is staring at him eyebrows raised. The resemblance is still there but the colours are wrong, dark purples and grays in place of bright reds and greens. He glares at him, and the boy shrugs, rising from his seat and heading up some stairs in the back of the room.

He shakes his head, just what is wrong with him lately?

“You planning on ordering?” The boy behind the counter asks, watching Sora with a bored stare. Off to the side Tsukikage is seated at the end of the bar, sipping at some juice while the bluebird that had been resting on his head has moved down to nestle in the crook of his neck.

“Wonderful customer service, really feeling the joy.” He replies and the boy glares. Seriously, what kind of store owner is this, what kind of employee dresses like they're about to join some emo apocalypse band.

“You aren’t a customer.”

“What?”

The boy points over at Tsukikage. “That’s a customer,” then shrugs the hand towards Sora, “you’re an annoying player.”

He bristles, shoulders rising, “Do you want to fight or something?”

“No Sora, I don’t. This is a business, do you want to order something or not?”

“I –why do you know my name?” He asks, stance lowering, he knew this was too good to be true, it’s a trap, or an ambush, trying to knock them out of the running.

“I know the name of every player, Shiunin Sora.” He says, nodding his head in greeting. “Kurosaki Shun, it’s…” his face twists, “nice to meet you.”

“Wow.” Sora says flatly, “Real genuine.” He continues, before the sentence properly filters through. “Just who are you!”

Kurosaki stares, “A café owner.”

“You’re like, seventeen at best.”

“Orphan.” He replies, expression unfailingly neutral.

“… Okay.” He says, unsure of how to respond, and in the silence that follows the pair Tsukikage had been talking to earlier walk in, moving by Sora to order.

Sora watches them, and how they move down the room over to Tsukikage who greets them. His eyes narrow, turning his glare back on Kurosaki.

“So what’s today's mission.” He asks.

“Order a drink.”

“And then?”

“Enjoy it.”

“And then?”

“Nothing, wait for the day to end. Yesterday’s mission was rough, consider it a gift from the Conductor.”

“You really think I’m going to believe that? That we’ve been given some kind of rest day.”

“Believe what you will.” Kurosaki says, placing a colourful looking beverage in front of him. “An anonymous customer from earlier told me you might like this.”

Anonymous, he scoffed, as if anyone else would think to do this. At least that meant they’d already been here…

Ugh! Why was he worried about them. He picked up the drink with a scowl, taking a large gulp out of frustration.

It’s delicious, just the kind of sweet he enjoys. Why does she know that?

“We’re your friends!”

Simply impossible, Sora doesn’t have friends. Friends are people who are close enough to betray you all the worse.

“How much do I owe you?”

“Been paid for. Consider your mission complete, all you had to do is enjoy it.”

“Seriously, that’s it?”

Kurosaki doesn’t respond, taking a look around the café. A small crowd has arrived amidst their conversation, but everyone is settled in now chatting amongst themselves.

“How long are you planning to keep this up?” Kurosaki asks, attention turned firmly back on Sora.

“Keep what up?”

“This.” He says with a wave.

“You just gestured to all of me.” He growls, and Kurosaki shrugs once again. Oh Sora is really starting to hate this guy.

“Your entire person is the issue, why wouldn’t I.”

“Why you –”

“The Reaper’s Game is a partnered game, you can’t win on your own. You have to trust your partner, or you’re never going to get anywhere.”

“Rich coming from someone like you, you even have any friends?”

“I have people more important to me than my own life. I trust them more than anything. I can trust them like that, because I know they feel the same way, because I know they will stand with me no matter what. Everyone needs someone like that Sora, even you.”

“Stupid, you’re an idiot, all of you are!” He shouts, slamming his hands down on the counter as he stands from his seat. Silence resounds around the café at his outburst, bewildered and curious looks that irritate him until he lands on Tsukikage. His brows are furrowed, pinched with concern. Sora scowls, he didn’t ask for that, it isn’t necessary.

He flops back into his seat with a heavy sigh, burrowing his head in his hands.

“Are you done?”

“Shut up.”

“If you keep acting like that, I might have to ask you to leave. I do have customers to look out for.”

He opens one eye, peering at the other between his fingers. “So, why don’t you? It’s not like I care.”

“I don’t care for good business, besides, we’re talking.”

Sora stares at him. “I really don’t believe you have friends.”

“I have at least three.” Kurosaki replies flatly, though there’s a slight upward turn of his lip. “Now, are you willing to listen?”

“To your friendship speech? Not particularly.”

“Perfect.” He replies, as if Sora had given any kind of acceptance to his offer. “This isn’t a speech, nor am I preaching, I don’t like speaking that much. This is advice and a lesson. If you don’t change your tune soon you’re not going to live to regret it.”

“Are you threatening me?” He asks forcibly even, refusing to have another outburst.

“I am stating a fact. In this game your partner is your friend, your lifeline, your everything. If you can’t trust them then you can’t get anywhere. You’d do well to remember that, you’re an idiot marching towards death if you don’t.”

“I’ve made it perfectly fine this far.” And he doesn’t have any plans to change that.

“Oh? You had a close call just yesterday.” Kurosaki hums, an annoyingly knowing expression on his face.

Sora turns away, face twisting in displeasure. He could still remember Tsukikage’s hand on his arm as he tugged him out of the way, the claw of the noise that had snuck up behind him swiping into the space he had just been standing in, dissipating into static as Tsukikage’s monster attacked it. He could remember the gash in the ground left behind even as it disappeared, and Sora knew he wouldn’t have survived that attack.

It didn’t mean he needed help, he could have dodged, Tsukikage just hadn’t given him the chance.

And it definitely didn’t mean that Tsukikage cared in any way about him. If Sora had died then he wouldn’t have survived long after either, their existences were linked until they beat this game. It was simply self preservation.

Sora would have done the same, and there wouldn’t have been any deeper behind it.

It didn’t mean anything.

No one cared about Sora.

And Sora didn’t care about anyone.

“And I made it out, didn’t I?” He spit.

“With the help of your partner.” Kurosaki replied, with the tone of voice that screamed ‘so as you can see.’

“So? Self-preservation isn’t trust, it’s common sense.” He retorts with a bored sigh.

“You really believe that, don’t you?” He asks and the bewildered look on his face is the most emotion Sora’s seen on his face other than annoyance.

“Other people only let you down, there’s nothing to be gained from getting along with others. From trusting in them. I’m not stupid enough to fall for this trusting your partner bullshit, I don’t know what your angle is making us partner up, but you can count me out.”

Another pause as another pair comes in to order, though as Kurosaki prepares the drinks he looks back up at Sora.

“I told you I wasn’t going to preach, that’s annoying.” Kurosaki says, shrugging one arm, “So if you aren’t going to listen, I won’t say anymore. You can’t talk to people who won’t listen, and you can’t teach people who don’t want to learn.”

“Thanks. Really appreciate it.” Sora says, forcing as much sarcasm into his tone as he can.

“I don’t enjoy this either, you know.” He replies, turning away to call over the two from earlier, handing out their drinks.

“Then why do it?” He asks flatly once Kurosaki’s attention returns to him.

“Favour for a friend.” Kurosaki replies promptly and then, before Sora can ask about that, continues. “You’re a fusion user, right?”

His eyes narrow, hand lowering to grasp his deck. “Yeah, what about it?” In the UG they could summon their monsters to help defeat the noise, but Sora hadn’t seen anyone who could summon something higher than a level five monster, let alone any kind of special summoned monsters. Sora had tried it once when he’d had two monsters up once, but it had failed terribly and had left Sora drained and tired long after the fight had finished.

“Can I see one of your polymerizations?” Kurosaki asked, with such a disgusted look on his face that Sora couldn’t help but comply. For some reason, the obvious distaste made it unlikely he wanted to do something weird with it. When he held it between his hands like it was diseased, he almost wanted to laugh. “If you ever find any merit in what I told you today, trust in your partner, and believe in this card's power. You might see a miracle.” Kurosaki said with all the excitement and energy of a bored teenager.

“You could really stand to work on your pep talks, or whatever it was you were trying to do here.” He scoffs, swiping the card back, as if something like trust would make something so difficult and exhausting just happen.

“I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.” He replies with a roll of his eyes, rising from his seat as he turns towards where Tsukikage and those two others are still sitting together. “Tsukikage I’m leaving, you can stay or whatever.”

“Shiunin-san, it is not safe for you to wander around by yourself.” Tsukikage says as he stands as well, making his way over to him. “An errant noise could –"

“God shut up. I’ve told you to stop being annoying with that.”

“As your partner it is –”

“Don’t start with that either.” He scoffs, shoving his hands into his pocket. He’d had enough of this partner and trusting each other talk for the day, for the rest of the week in fact.

Just four more days and he’ll never have to deal with any of this ever again. Four more days and things can go back to normal, just him by himself and no one else.

Like it’s supposed to be.

**Author's Note:**

> twewy au notes, but just ones that are relevant to this fic  
> -like i said this isn't a direct one to one twewy au. this is also just compeltely ignoring arc v canon. no split 4 dimensions. that limits my character options too much leave me alone.  
> -sora price: his memorys of yuya/yuzu and also what their friendship gave to him (a reason to care for people. not be an evil prick)  
> -tsukikage price: hikage's life. he's alive, but he won't be if tsukikage loses :)  
> -yuya price: his ability/desire to smile/make others smile  
> -yuzu price: I DONT REMEMBER?? i think we decided on yuya's memory of her? stan yuzu neither of her friends remember her  
> -two players mentioned twice: i actually like. only in my head decided that they were two male arc v characters. sawatari/gongenzaka? micho/teppei? crow/shinji? it is simply up to you.  
> \- ruri: conductor/shun: producer/yuto: composer 'hey yuya why does god look like you?' don't think about it  
> -because I can't write things without deciding things even if they aren't relevant i mentioned it in fic but in this au everyone's psych would just be being able to summon monsters from their decks. and then the stronger the soul/imagination the higher level monster you can summon. or conversely the more lower level ones u could. for example let's say someone could summon up to a level 6. they could also summon two level threes. no one can do more than 3. most people can't do more than two. I didn't decide if tribute summons are allowed. but because i want yuya to be able to summon odd eyes pendulum dragon on his own. maybe.  
> \- the partner attack is you guys can work together to special summon a monster... like fusion/xyz/synchro etc. otherwise the energy of that kind of summon is too powerful for a one person. trust ur partner sora. summon frightfur chimera.
> 
> Thanks for reading! I may or may not write more of this  
> [Tumblr](http://twinsky.tumblr.com)/[Twitter](https://twitter.com/twinsky72)


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